New round of job losses hits CPS teachers
New round of job losses hits CPS teachers
David R. Stone - July 14, 2011
(CHICAGO. July 13, 2011). Many Chicago Public School teachers have lost their jobs this week. The Chicago Board of Education is moving at least some of them into the “Reassigned Teacher” pool, and has scheduled a job fair to help them find other teaching positions.
While the CPS Office of Communications had not revealed the extent of the layoffs and terminations as of mid-day on July 14, union sources confirmed that as many as 1,000 teachers had received the pink slips. The union has previously complained that CPS has agreed to hire large numbers of "Teacher for America" teachers while ignoring the veteran teachers it has been eliminating.
Surrounded by teachers who had faced lay offs during 2010, Chicago Teachers Union attorney Tom Geohegan (center) spoke with reporters after a federal court hearing on January 7, 2011 on the union's lawsuit. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.
The job losses, anticipated for weeks, became official with “personal and confidential” letters teachers received in the mail on Wednesday, July 13, 2011.
Reassigned teachers can retain their salary and benefits for one year while working as substitute or “interim” teachers. If they do not find a teaching position by the end of the 10 months, they will be “honorable terminated” (i.e., laid off).
The Board of Education provides some help for them to find positions at other CPS schools, such as online job applications, and a displaced teacher job fair, to be held on Thursday, July 21, 2011.
The letter sent to displaced teachers also offers “Resume Writing and Interview Tips Workshops” on July 11 and July 15, 2011. Curiously, the form letter is dated June 30, 2011, but the letters were not mailed until after the date of one of those workshops.
Rumors of these letters have appeared on the CPS online employee discussion boards. Some teachers posting on those boards reported phone calls from principals telling them they would lose their jobs, and many wondered when the letters would be sent. One of these letters seen by Substance News was sent by Certified Mail on Tuesday, July 12, 2011.
Last summer, the Board of Education terminated the jobs of approximately 1,300 teachers at the end of the school year. During the course of the 2010-11 school year, more than half of them were rehired.
Last summer, in its mass firing of teachers, the Board of Education ignored the “Reassigned Teacher” clause of the Collective Bargaining Agreement it had signed with the Chicago Teachers Union. At that time, many teachers were “honorably discharged” — without the contracted 10 months of paid employment and benefits, and often without regard to the teachers’ tenure or seniority, according to the teachers and union officials.
By: Kathryn Sindelar
NO JOB
I received a certified letter on Aug. 31st, 2010 stating that my Music position was closed and therefore was "honorably dismissed". This means that I was not employed at all during the 2010-2011 school year. I was not assigned to the Re-assigned Teacher Pool or given any notice about job fairs. Even though I have an on line application filled out and have been on some interviews NO ONE HAS EVEN CONTACTED ME WITH ANY OFFERS.
The new school year is about to begin and I am still unemployed. I received tenure in 1993 and had worked for the board for 19 years. What is one to do when Unemployment benefits run out and there is nothing left to pay bills????